The Haunted Mansion is Home to Nine Hundred & Ninety Nine Happy Haunting Ghost. The original concept for the Mansion was drawn by Walt's first Imagineers Harper Goff. His original Main Street sketch had a crooked street leading away from main street leading by a peaceful church and graveyard, with a run-down manor perched high on a hill that towered over main street.

The attraction however was not included in the 1955 opening but came later with the expansion of New Orleans square. The project was handed off to Ken Anderson to build on the original concept and Ken studied old New Orleans and old plantation homes and came up with a few ideas that Walt wasn't too fond of. He was often quoted as saying "We'll take care of the outside and let the ghosts take care of the inside."

The original concept for the attraction included a tale of tales of a ghostly sea captain who killed his nosy bride and then hanged himself, a mansion home to an unfortunate family, and a ghostly wedding party with previous Disney villains and spooks like Captain Hook, lonesome ghosts, and the headless horseman. Some of the Universal Monsters were even planned to appear.

On August 9, 1969, the Disneyland version of the attraction was completed, and remained essentially unchanged for years until in 2001 when the Haunted Mansion is closed down for remodeling to make room for a few of Tim Burtons friend from "Nightmare Before Christmas".

Apparently in 2006 some additional spookiness was added but I don't want to give it away. I would suggest reading the Wiki on the haunted Mansion as it is chalk full of classic Disney Imagineering stories. Happy haunting BWAHHAHAHAHAHAH.

Rising 147 feet above the park the Matterhorn Bobsled ride was always the signal for me that we were near Disneyland. Once my parents tried to trick us by not telling us where we were going however trying to hide 11 story mountain in the middle of a city took years of construction in and around Disneyland. The Matterhorn can still be seen today from the interstate 5 freeway but you've got to know where and when to look.

Walt conceived the ideal while filming on location in Switzerland for the movie Third Man on the Mountain(no video found). The Matterhorn was the first tubular steel coaster and the mountain is a 1/100th scale of the original Matterhorn in Switzerland. Opening June 14, 1959 the Matterhorn bobsled rides was opened and showcased with Tomorrow land but in 1970 the ride was annexed by Fantasyland. Originally the ride was not really showcased inside except for rock like concrete walls, in 1978 the Matterhorn received major a Imagineering overhaul and the Ice caves and a lovable fun yeti named Harold.



My first introduction to the Spanish language was on the bobsleds at the end of the ride you would here ""Remain seated please; Permanecer sentados por favor" . There is an old legend that there is a basketball court inside the Mountain too, although the story has been recently debunked as it was only a storage room with a basketball hoop in it where the Climbers would go for a break between climbing sessions.

When visiting the Wishing Well Grotto next to Sleeping Beauties Castle you will notice that Snow White and the Seven Dwarf's have taken up permanent residence overlooking the well there is a story about those statues.

The statues were donated anonymously to Walt Disney, and he was determined to incorporate them into the park. The only problem was that whoever made the statues made Snow White the same size as the dwarf's (which she is not). Walt Disney Imagineer John Hench used the optical trick of forced perspective to make the statues work. He put Snow White at the top of the waterfall with a Disney-made small deer and put the dwarfs close to ground-level, making Snow appear to be further away, and thus smaller.

One rumor as to the origin of the statues is that they were "a gift from an Italian sculptor that had never seen the film, but owned a set of soaps in the form of the princess and the dwarfs. Unfortunately, Snow White was the same size as the dwarfs in the soap set, so the sculptor made her that way."

No one knows for sure if the story is true but it sure is fun to think of a far off fan that loves Disney so much he spent so much time on a gift to Walt.

One ride I hav enever enjoyed at Disney's California Adventure is the Orange Stinger. You may ask why I don't like it, well the problem is I do but I don't fit. The chairs are just a bit narrow for this wide body. Chair swings are so much fun though. Spinnig around in side a large orange with the sound of a thousand bee's buzzing aournd you makes you feel like well your in a giant orange with the sound of a thousand bee's buzzing around you. I will certainly bee watching as the kids and slimmer persons in our group enjoy this ride.

No matter how many times you visit Disneyland your first experience after coming throught the gates is Main Street, U.S.A. The high railroad embankment prevents you from seeing the outside world as you enter the "Magic Kingdom" , and main street is just as magical as the rest of the park. Here is what Wikipedia has on Main Street:

Main Street, U.S.A. is patterned after a typical midwest town of the early 20th century. Walt Disney derived inspiration from his boyhood town of Marceline, Missouri and worked closely with designers and architects to develop the Main Street appeal. It is the first area guests see when they enter the park, and is how guests reach Central Plaza. At the center of The Magic Kingdom and immediately North of Central Plaza stands Sleeping Beauty Castle, which provides entrance to Fantasyland by way of a drawbridge across a moat. Adventureland, Frontierland, and Tomorrowland are arrayed on both sides of the castle.

“For those of us who remember the carefree time it recreates, Main Street will bring back happy memories. For younger visitors, it is an adventure in turning back the calendar to the days of grandfather's youth.”— Walt E. Disney

Main Street, U.S.A. is reminiscent of the Victorian period of Americana with the train station, town square, movie theatre, city hall, firehouse complete with a steam-powered pump engine, emporium, shops, arcades, double-decker bus, horse-drawn streetcar, jitneys and other bits of memorabilia. At the far end of Main Street, U.S.A. is Sleeping Beauty Castle, and the Plaza hub which is a portal to all the theme lands.

The design of Main Street, U.S.A. utilizes a process to give the appearance of height called forced perspective. Buildings down Main Street are built at 3/4 scale on the first level, then 5/8 on the second story, and 1/2 scale on the third.

I personaly think most of the magic happens inside the store on Main Street at night when guests are leaving the park. What better way to make the visit last a littlelonger than to take home a sutffed Mickey, a box of chocolate covered peanuts, a new shirt, a limited edition sculpture (that cost as much as a smal 3rd world country), a Disney DVD, or even one last churror. Sure most of the trinket you bring home end up in the closet, but that's not why you really got it in the first placeis it?

I remember the story Tang told about Pauch when he was little telling his Mom that he flew. I wonder if this is why Soarin' Over California was one of his favorites. Flying is such a magical act. Disney included flying in several of the parks themes in the early days,. the Dumbo ride, Voyage to the Moon and The Rocket Pods. Soaring high above the earth for some is quiet dis-heartening to some but in Soarin' Over California you fellsafe and secure. You feel the cool breeze as you coast through the Redwoods and over mountains. You smell the pines, oranges, and sea air that are truly part of California. I think Walt would have really loved Soanrin' because it takes make believe to a new height! Remeber think a happy thought!

Next year on your Birthday The Cast over at Disneyland will be giving you a special birthday present. A free day at the park! Go on your Birthday and present valid proof of birth date and you will get in free to the Disneyland Theme Park. This is a one day one park pass who would have thunk that this would have ever happened. Getting anything at Disneyland for free is like the crocodile in Peter Pan not liking the taste of Captain Hook. Although this Mouseketeer has to wait till the end of next year to get his freebie. So have a slice of Birthday Cake and on September 29th you can start registering for the freebie.